schieben jass meaning: how the choice passes

What does schieben mean in Jass?

Schieben means that the forehand passes the contract choice to the partner. The forehand may do so exactly once in a round. The partner must then choose the contract, and the choice cannot travel back to the forehand.

Jass is played by four players in two fixed teams. Partners sit opposite each other. The forehand is the player to the dealer’s right. Under the normal procedure, the forehand chooses the contract and leads the first trick. Schieben changes who chooses, but it does not change the teams, the seating or the direction of play.

Cards are dealt three at a time, and play runs counter-clockwise. The dealer rotates each round, so the forehand also changes as the deal moves around the table. A player may therefore have the contract choice in one round and receive a schieben decision in another. The role belongs to the seat in relation to the dealer, not to a permanent player.

Schieben is not a contract, a suit or a scoring category. It is a procedural decision about responsibility for the contract. The forehand can name a contract or pass the choice to the partner. After a pass, the partner must make a legal contract choice under the rules used at the table.

The sequence is straightforward:

• The dealer deals the cards three at a time.
• The player to the dealer’s right becomes the forehand.
• The forehand chooses a contract or schiebt.
• The partner chooses if the forehand schiebt.
• The forehand leads the first trick.

The opening lead remains with the forehand. Passing the contract choice does not pass the forehand’s position at the table. The partner takes responsibility for naming the contract, but the forehand starts the trick play.

A worked example makes the distinction clear. Suppose Anna is the dealer’s right-hand player and therefore the forehand. Anna does not choose a contract and says schieben. Her opposite partner, Bruno, must now choose the contract. Bruno cannot return the choice to Anna. After Bruno chooses, Anna leads the first trick because Anna remains the forehand.

For the wider rules of the passing form of Jass, see Schieber. Schieben is the central decision described by that term, but the pass itself should not be confused with the contract that follows it.

Who may schieben, and why can the partner not pass it back?

Only the forehand may schieben. The forehand may use the pass exactly once, before choosing a contract. The partner receives the decision and must choose; the partner has no second pass.

The one-way rule gives the round a definite decision-maker. Without that limit, the choice could move between partners without either player accepting responsibility. Schieben is therefore a transfer of authority, not an exchange. The forehand gives up the choice, and the partner accepts it.

The partner’s next legal action is to select a contract. The partner cannot ask the forehand to choose instead, decline the decision indefinitely or create another schieben. Once the partner has chosen, the contract is set for the round. The forehand then leads the opening trick in the forehand’s normal position.

Consider a simple sequence. Clara is the forehand and has the first choice. Clara schiebt. Her partner, David, must now inspect his cards and name a contract. David cannot say that the choice should return to Clara. If David chooses Rosen, Rosen becomes the contract for the round, subject to the multiplier convention agreed at the table. Clara leads the first trick.

The rule also preserves the information carried by the action. The table can see that the forehand declined the initial choice and that the partner accepted responsibility. If the partner could pass it back, the meaning of the original action would become uncertain. Players would not know which decision had been accepted or which player had shaped the contract.

The forehand still has a normal alternative to schieben. A forehand with a clear preference can name a contract and keep the opening lead. A forehand who wants the partner to judge the hand can schieben. Both actions are legal, but they produce different information for the table.

The rule does not depend on a private agreement between partners. Partners may know one another’s habits, but they must follow the same order of decisions as every other pair. Regional multiplier systems may differ, but the pass remains one-way in the procedure described here.

The choice of contract has its own rules. See choosing a contract for the available choices and the decision that follows a pass. Schieben does not replace that choice. It determines which partner must make it.

What does schieben tell the table about a hand?

Schieben tells the table that the forehand has declined to name a contract at the first opportunity. The action is visible, so every player may consider it when reading the round. Schieben does not reveal the forehand’s exact cards, exact strength or preferred contract.

A pass may have several reasonable explanations. The forehand may not see a comfortable contract, may hold a hand that fits several choices imperfectly or may trust the partner’s judgement more. A player may also pass because the hand is difficult to assess. None of those readings is fixed by the rule.

The safest interpretation is narrow: the forehand did not choose. The receiving partner should not assume that the forehand has a weak hand, a particular suit or a named card. A player can schieben with many different kinds of hand. The action gives information about the decision, not a complete description of the cards.

The opponents can use the same fact. They know that the forehand passed the choice and that the partner must now choose the contract. They may compare the chosen contract with the visible sequence of decisions, but they cannot infer cards that have not been shown. A careful player separates what the action proves from what the action might suggest.

A disciplined reading can be expressed like this:

• The forehand did not name a contract.
• The partner must name the contract.
• The forehand may have wanted help or preferred the partner’s judgement.
• No exact suit, rank or card follows from schieben alone.

Suppose Emma schiebt and her partner, Felix, chooses Obenabe, the high-to-low contract. The choice tells the table that Felix accepted responsibility for Obenabe. It does not prove that Emma lacks a strong suit, nor does it prove that Emma wanted Obenabe. Felix’s cards and judgement produced the contract.

Schieben is therefore legal information rather than a coded declaration. Players may respond to the action, but they should not assign it a universal meaning. A partnership can develop practical habits, yet those habits are interpretations layered on top of the rule. They do not change what schieben legally does.

Partner play explains the wider discipline of reading a partner’s actions without giving them meanings that the rules do not support. Schieben provides a useful clue about responsibility for the decision, but the contract and the cards still determine the play that follows.

How should the partner respond after a schieben decision?

The partner should respond to schieben by taking responsibility for the contract choice. The partner should assess the hand, compare the available contracts and name the strongest legal choice under the table’s rules. The partner cannot wait for the forehand to take the choice back.

The response begins with the partner’s own cards. Schieben does not name a suit or contract, so the partner should not treat the pass as a command to choose one particular option. The partner may consider the forehand’s decision, but the cards remain the main evidence for the contract choice.

The partner should also keep the opening lead in the correct hands. The partner chooses the contract after the pass, but the forehand leads the first trick. The pass changes the decision-maker for the contract; it does not change the forehand’s position or transfer the opening lead.

A practical response has a clear order:

• Recognise that the forehand has passed the choice.
• Judge the available contracts from the hand held.
• Name one legal contract.
• Allow the forehand to lead the first trick.

Suppose Grace is the forehand and schiebt to her opposite partner, Henry. Henry holds a hand that makes Undenufe attractive and chooses that contract. Henry has fulfilled the obligation created by schieben. Grace then leads the first trick. Henry does not lead simply because Henry named the contract.

The partner should avoid two common errors. The first is treating schieben as proof of a particular holding. The second is assuming that the player who chooses must also lead. The rule separates those functions in this situation: the partner chooses after the pass, while the forehand remains the opening leader.

A good partner also avoids overcorrecting. A pass does not require an ambitious contract, and it does not require the partner to choose the safest-looking option without considering the hand. The partner must make the best judgement available, knowing that the forehand has deliberately handed over the contract decision.

Later tricks may add context, but later play cannot change the original order. The forehand passed once, the partner chose, and the forehand led. A difficult result does not make the pass unlawful, and a successful contract does not prove that the forehand intended it from the start.

For the names and scoring effects of the available contracts, see contracts. The partner’s task is to choose within those rules, not to negotiate another pass. A clear table keeps the pass, the choice and the opening lead in their proper order.

How does schieben affect the contract and the score?

Schieben does not create a separate multiplier. The contract chosen after the pass supplies the multiplier for the written round. The factor applies to the whole round, including tricks, Weis and Stöck, for both teams rather than only for the team that chose.

The common table uses these values, and the app writes this set by default: Eicheln ×1, Rosen ×1, Schellen ×2, Schilten ×2, Obenabe ×3 and Undenufe ×4. Eicheln, Rosen, Schellen and Schilten are the four suits. Obenabe is the high-to-low contract, while Undenufe is the low-to-high contract.

The multiplier values are regional rather than universal. A widely published variant gives both Obenabe and Undenufe ×3. An ascending variant runs Eicheln ×1, Rosen ×2, Schellen ×3, Schilten ×4, Obenabe ×5 and Undenufe ×6. Players should agree which convention applies before assessing a round.

Schieben does not select the multiplier by itself. If the forehand chooses Eicheln, the table uses the Eicheln factor from the agreed convention. If the forehand schiebt and the partner chooses Eicheln, the same Eicheln factor applies. The pass changes who names the contract, not the value attached to that contract.

The factor also applies equally to both teams. Suppose the partner chooses Schellen after a schieben decision under the common table. Schellen carries ×2 for the written round. The factor covers the round’s tricks, Weis and Stöck for both teams. The choosing team does not receive a special multiplier merely because its player named the contract.

That rule gives schieben a real strategic consequence without making schieben a scoring category. The pass can move the contract choice to the player who has the better hand for a particular contract. The selected contract then determines the round’s scoring basis under the multiplier system in use.

Readers comparing Jass rule descriptions should check the multiplier convention carefully. The common table is the app’s default, but the widely published variant and the ascending variant are also named regional systems. A list that presents one set as the only correct table misses an important difference between local rules.

The procedural result remains clear across those variants. The forehand may schieben exactly once. The partner must choose and cannot pass the choice back. The forehand leads the first trick. The chosen contract supplies the factor for the entire written round, including tricks, Weis and Stöck for both teams.